24 Hours of Climate Reality: Gore-a-thon – Hour 15

A new post containing a cartoon from Josh will appear every hour. At the end of the 24 hours, everything will be collated on a single page. Readers are encouraged to post skeptical arguments below, as well as offer comments on what has been seen from the Climate Reality Project so far.

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Carbon credits are the new indulgences.

Too bad though that carbon credits are on the way out, failing big time:

ICE to Close Chicago Climate Futures Exchange

CHICAGO—IntercontinentalExchange Inc. told traders Friday that it would shut down its U.S. emissions derivatives platform, a year after acquiring its parent only to suffer sparse trading as the prospects of a federal carbon-reduction plan remain dim.

The money-losing Chicago Climate Futures Exchange venture will continue operating through the first quarter of 2012 before closing, exchange officials said in a notice. ICE will then list over-the-counter emissions contracts mirroring products listed on the platform.

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“The U.S. has not enacted carbon cap-and-trade legislation and changes to the EPA acid rain program have reduced trading activity,” ICE said in the notice. “Accordingly, Chicago Climate Futures Exchange volumes are down substantially and the exchange is operating at a loss.”

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You can still get carbon credits here, and the price is very affordable.

Josh put a lot of work into these, so if you like the work, drop by the tip jar. Unlike Gore’s CRP, he won’t spam you asking for more. Buy him a beer, he’s worked a long time bringing us enjoyment with only some “attaboys” sent his way.

14 thoughts on “24 Hours of Climate Reality: Gore-a-thon – Hour 15”

Carbon credits looks familiar when you know this:
In 1517, Martin Luther intended to spark only a reform within the Catholic Church when he hammered his 95 Theses to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
Many of Luther’s complaints about the church revolved around the sale of indulgences. Indulgences promised the purchaser the remission of sins and reduced his or her time in purgatory (a temporary hell where believers were to pay for their sins).

Al has evidently reached the bargaining stage of grief over his missing billions (ok, billions and billions, in homage to Carl Sagan) of dollars from carbon credit trading. (I’m taking his relative silence for the last few months as denial, and his angry denunciations last month as anger.)

Carbon credits aren’t 100% dead, here in the People’s Republic of California, all sorts of restrictions on carbon emissions kick in by the year 2020. If I remember correctly, AB32 does allow for carbon trading.

I’ve made a review of the most important Portuguese newspapers, and only JN has made a slight mention to Climate Reality. The others, including the most alarmist, Publico, have not mentioned the project till now…

To further extend the analogy between carbon credits and indulgences, consider this… what was one of the first books banned by the Church after Gutenberg invented the printing press? Yes, it was English translations of the Bible!!! Seems that once the hoi polloi read Christ’s admonishments against “Simony” in Acts of the Apostles 8:18-24, they started questioning the Church’s lucrative practices. Notice how hard Mann etal have fought to keep their data secret (== prevent the Bible being translated to common English), to keep the hoi polloi in the dark. AGW is taking on many of the trappings and practices of a state religion.

Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences
1. When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said “Repent”, He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. . . .
3. Yet its meaning is not restricted to repentance in one’s heart; for such repentance is null unless it produces outward signs in various mortifications of the flesh. . . .
6. The pope himself cannot remit guilt, but only declare and confirm that it has been remitted by God; or, at most, he can remit it in cases reserved to his discretion. Except for these cases, the guilt remains untouched. . . .
12. In former days, the canonical penalties were imposed, not after, but before absolution was pronounced; and were intended to be tests of true contrition. . . .
20. Therefore the pope, in speaking of the plenary remission of all penalties, does not mean “all” in the strict sense, but only those imposed by himself.
21. Hence those who preach indulgences are in error when they say that a man is absolved and saved from every penalty by the pope’s indulgences.. . .
24. It must therefore be the case that the major part of the people are deceived by that indiscriminate and high-sounding promise of relief from penalty. . . .
28. It is certainly possible that when the money clinks in the bottom of the chest avarice and greed increase; but when the church offers intercession, all depends in the will of God. . . .
34. For the grace conveyed by these indulgences relates simply to the penalties of the sacramental “satisfactions” decreed merely by man. . . .
35. It is not in accordance with Christian doctrines to preach and teach that those who buy off souls, or purchase confessional licenses, have no need to repent of their own sins. . . .
40. A truly contrite sinner seeks out, and loves to pay, the penalties of his sins; whereas the very multitude of indulgences dulls men’s consciences, and tends to make them hate the penalties. . . .
43. Christians should be taught that one who gives to the poor, or lends to the needy, does a better action than if he purchases indulgences.</b. . . .
47. Christians should be taught that they purchase indulgences voluntarily, and are not under obligation to do so.. . .
57. That these treasures are not temporal are clear from the fact that many of the merchants do not grant them freely, but only collect them. . . .
66. The treasures of the indulgences are the nets which to-day they use to fish for the wealth of men.
67. The indulgences, which the merchants extol as the greatest of favours, are seen to be, in fact, a favourite means for money-getting. . . .
72. On the other hand, let him be blessed who is on his guard against the wantonness and license of the pardon-merchant’s words. . . .
82. They ask, e.g.: Why does not the pope liberate everyone from purgatory for the sake of love (a most holy thing) and because of the supreme necessity of their souls? This would be morally the best of all reasons. Meanwhile he redeems innumerable souls for money, a most perishable thing, with which to build St. Peter’s church, a very minor purpose. . . .
86. Again: since the pope’s income to-day is larger than that of the wealthiest of wealthy men, why does he not build this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of indigent believers? . . .
94. Christians should be exhorted to be zealous to follow Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hells. . . .

. . .Poland and the Czech Republic have published their plans. Based on this data, Deutsche Bank has forecast that the EU will hand out 690 million EUAs to the 10 member states over the third phase of the scheme from 2013 to 2020.

I like that M4GW “Frozen Wasteland” video, but cringe when I see the girl pretending to play the violin. Pretty to look at, but sheesh, couldn’t they find someone up in that frozen wasteland who actually knew how to play it?